Loom-harness.



J. F. MATTHEWS} LO OM HARNESS.

APPLICA'HON FILED SEPT-3,1908. RENEWED APR. 30.1917.

Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

rr are airnir rnrb JAMES F. MATTHEWS, OF FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN WARP DRAWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORA- TION OF MAINE.

LOOM-HARNESS.

Patented Feb. 5, JWILS.

Application filed September 3, 1908, Serial No. 451,534. Renewed April30, 1917. Serial No. 165,639.

1 0 all to hem it mag concern Be it known that 1, JAMES F.lVIA'lTI-IE\VS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of FallRiver, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Loom-Harness, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

hly'invention relates, to 100111 harnesses, being more particularlyconcerned with the provision of a loom harness, the individual warp eyesupports of which can be readily and accurately positioned, either inthe hand manipulation of the harness, or in connection with harness eyeseparating and se lecting mechanism.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the followingdescription, when taken in connection with the accompanying illustrationof one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 shows in perspective a portion of a loom harness embodying oneform of my invention Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on a larger scale,showing the adjacent heddle members of such a loom harness, partiallybroken away but with certain of the foremost heddles separated each fromthe other;

Fig. 3 is. a similar view, showing the adjacent heddle members of theharness shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the relation which they have prior tothe installation of the harness in the loom;

Fig. 4 is a perspective showin g a modified form of harness; and

Fig. 5 is a viewsimilar to Figs. 2 and 3 showing the previouslydisclosed harness while being acted upon by the harness eye separatingand selecting mechanism of a.

war. drawin or war unitin machine.

Referring to the embodiment of my in vention which I have selected forillustration, and more particularlyto Figs. 1 and 2, while my inventionmay have useful application to other forms than the ordinary cotton l:have there showna usual loom harness comprising upper and lower harnessshafts 1 and 2,'to which are secured in any suitable or usual wayrespectively the upper and lower strands of the warp eye supports,herein the usual heddle members, the same being assembled in the closelyad jacent relation ordinarily given to the heddle members of a loomharness.

'l/Vhile my invention is in no wise limited to the usual arrangement,nor to any other particular arrangement of heddle strands, in thepresent instance each heddle member comprises an eye portion 3, providedwith pairs of lower supporting strands or cords 4: which, in the presentconstruction, as in the ordinary harness construction, pass downward onthe same side of the lower shaft 2, the lower strands of each successiveeye, however, passing to alternate sides of the shaft, to maintain theusual lease of the harness, although such lease is in no wise es sentialto my invention.

Each heddle member is also provided with pairs of upper strandswhichlead upwardly from the eye to the upper shaft 1, the individualmembers of each pair, however, passing to opposite sides of the uppershaft, in stead of to the same side as in the case of the lower strands.At the upper and lower edges, respectively, of the upper andlowerharness shafts the consecutive pairs of heddle strands are permanentlyconnected to the back bands 5 and 6, which are fixedly secured to theshafts. As far as described, this construction is the usual harness construction, well-known to those skilled in the art. 1

Where it is required to separate individual heddle eyes from the series,as for the purpose of drawing in the warp threads through consecutiveeyes, it is the custom of the hand. operator to avail himself of thelease formed by the lower strands, and, by alternately holding back thestrands on either side of the lower shaft, to release the foremoststrand on the opposite side thereof and posimeans, apart from the leasedcondition of the'strands as described, whereby the separation of theforemost warp eye from the series will automatically and of itselfseparate or partly separate the next adjacent eye from the series, sothat it can be readily seized by the hand or by suitable separatingmechanism. It follows, therefore, that in the hand separating operation,as soon as the thread has been placed through one eye, the next eye isalready in a position separated from the series and where it can bereadily moved along by the hand operator, to receive the next warpthread.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, and considering specifically, for the sakeof illustration, the heddle eyes designated as a, b andc, the upperstrand I) of the eye I), in passing to the rear side (as seen'in Fig. 2)of the upper shaft 1, is caused to cross and interlock with the adjacentupper strand a of the heddle eye a, which stranda passes to the oppositeor front side of-the shaft 1. Similarly, the strand 6 of the eye 7),which, like the strand a passes to the front side of the shaft, iscaused to cross and interlock with the adj acent strand c of the eye 0which passes to the rear side of the shaft. Similarly, the strand 0which passes to the front of'the shaft, is

interlocked with the rear upper strand of the next adjacent eye, whilethe rear strand a of the eye a is crossed and interlocked with the frontstrand of its next adjacent eye.

The entire series of heddle members having their upper strands crossedand interlaced in the described fashion, there is provided a series ofstrand crossings at 7 7, whereat adjacent upper strands of adjacent eyesare so related that the separation of any one eye from the series causesits strands to so draw upon the strands of the next adjacent eye that,the latter is also drawn apart from the series. Fig. 2, where the eye 0,having been sepa-. rated and pulled to the position shown, suchpositioning movement causes the strand 0 to draw on the interlocked andadjacent strand 5 of the eye 5, separating the eye I;

' also from the series.

Ittherefore follows that the hand operator by merely pulling over theforemost eye, will cause the separation also of the next adjacent eye.To facilitate the manipulation of the heddle members in this fashion,there may be provided means such as the longitudinal rod 8, or othermember, located between the eyes andthe crossings 7 so that by merelyrunning the finger over the rod and sliding the overlying strands ofeach eye along the same, the separation can be quickly 7 effected. Itwill be seen that as the foreof adjacent strands. and would, therefore,

tend to interfere with the warp shed con- This is best illustrated introlled by the remaining harness or harnesses in the loom as theharnesses undergo relative vertical reciprocation, there is preferablyprovided means for shifting the line of crossings 7 beyond the activelimits of the heddle members, that is to say, beyond the limits ofsliding contact between the heddle strands and the threads of theremaining harnesses when shed in the loom. This may be accomplished inany desired way, but in the present instance I preferably construct theharness with the upper strands slightly longer than in the ordinaryharness, in order to allow for the space occupied by the crossingsreferred to and also provide longitudinal separating means, such as therod 8, which for this purpose however may be a flexible wire, cord orany other device. The separating device 8, passing as it does betweenthe individual members of each pair of strands between the eyes and thecrossings 7, may be readily slid from the position shown in Figs. 1 and2 to the position shown in Fig. 8, forcing the strand crossings upbetween the upper shaft 1 and the rod 8, as represented in Fig. 3. Inthis position each end of the rod 8 may be held to the shaft by tyingthe same as at f, or by employing a clip or other fastening. This leavesthe harness from the separating rod 8 plicable to any harness and hasutility in the general employment of loom harnesses where the handseparation of the heddle members is requisite, it has particular utilityin connection with mechanical harness eye separating and selectingmechanisms, such as are employed upon warp drawing or warp unitingmachines.

In warp drawing machines it has hercto fore been practically impossibleto act upon adjacent heddle members and accurately separate and positionthe eyes thereof by the use of selecting devices which are intended toengage directly with the heddle strands. This is due to the crowded andclosely compacted relation of the flexible strands, which renders itdifficult for a mechanical separator to engage the foremost one, withoutat times either seizing two or more heddles or missing the foremost oneentirely. In the warp drawing machine of the prior art shown in PatentNo. 600,670, to M. F. Field, there is provided a helical spring, whichseparates adjacent heddles and with which spring a separate wormdirectly engages. Through the present invention a perfect mechanicalseparation of the heddles can be easily obtained by acting directly uponthe strands thereof with a mechanical selector and without employment ofany intervening member such as the spring of the Field patent.

In, Fig; 5 I'have shown a portion of a harness constructed as described,engaged by a sepa-ratlng and selecting member. Such selectingmember isshown in the form of a worm 9,;somewhat modified in shape from the wormshown in the aforesaid Field patent so that it is adapted directlytofengage I have deemed it unnecessary to show the remaining parts ofthe warpidrawing machine, since the worm may be, and preferably is,rotated by the worm shaft 10 in precisely the sameway as are the wormshafts 2- and y in the aforesaid Field patent, and by substantially thesame mechanism, and the harness or liarnesses may be supported andcombined with cooperating drawing in mechanisms, all. of substantiallythe same construction and assembled andv operating in the same manner asdisclosed in the said Field patent.

Preferably, though not necessarily, there isprovided in cooperation withthe worm 9 a longitudinal spacing member, such as the rod 11, whichpasses between the individual members of each upper pair of strands, but

above the crossings 7,, thereby forcing the crossings down close to theworm. It will be seen that, as the worm turns in the direction of thearrow shown in Fig. 5, the wedge shaped lip12 thereof is caused to enterbe tween the two upper strands of one ofthe heddle eyes and advance theeye into some such position as is occupied by the eye d in Fig. 5.- Inthat position the drawing-in needle is allowed to pass, through the eyeand the worm is given vanother turn. The advancement of the eye at to"the position shown, however, has .so separated the strands of the nextadjacent eye that the lip of the worm enters therebetween positively andwith certainty, causing the next eye to move in the same fashion. Theinterlacing of the strands, therefore, draws the strands of the heddlenext to be engaged intosuch a position that they cannot fail to beproperly engaged by the lip of the worm.

Preferably, as shown, the rod 11 is so positioned as to bring the lineof crossings closely adjacent to the periphery of the worm, so that thelip of the worm works close to or through the line of crossings. In thecase of the last described mechanism, the rod 11 is withdrawn prior tothe installation of the harness in the loom and a spacing member, suchas the rod 8 (Fig. 8), substituted for the worm and worm shaft. Tofacilitate this substitution, a swivel 13, having an eye 14, is providedon the end of the worm shaft 10. To the eye is fastened a cord 15, whichis drawn through the harness in the place occupied by the worm shaft asthe latter advances. When the operation tached to theend of the rod 8and the latter drawn to the requiredposition.

The. warp drawing machine of my invention is not necessarily limited toa mechanical separator of the particular type shown or to a rotaryseparating and selecting de vice, but any suitable separating means maybeemployed. r

I have shown only a portion of a harness in each figure of the drawing,sincethisis sufficient to illustrate the characteristics of my inventionand the construction shown thereby may be extended to a harness of asgreat or little extent as may be desired.

I have herein described a form of harness which requires a specialformation, differing from the usual harnessforrnation. Not

obtaining thesame object, but the usual or other harness formations maybe; so convertt ed as to; embody the principles of my invention.

I11 Fig. 4 I have shown a small section of an ordinary harness which,however, by the addition of leasing members, is so, ar ranged as toprovide adjacent interlaced strands, so that a ready separation of adj acent heddles may be effected.

Referring to Fig. 4 and, for illustration, to the particular heddle eyesdesignated as a, f and (7, it will. be seen that the upper legs orstrands for these'eyes would, were it not for the leasing members 16,naturally fall or hang in the usual formation, that is to say, not onlywith the members of each pair of strands passing to opposite sides ofthe shaft, but with the strands on the same side of the shaft foradjacent eyes lying in .con-

secutive order and without any interlacing connection.

To provide the interlacing formation are caused to cross and a leasingmember 16 is inserted to maintain the crossing, the

leasing members being the only means by which the crossings aremaintained and the harness differentiated from the usual form. By thismeans there are provided two sets of crossed strands, one passing to oneside of the harness shaft and the other to the opposite side, each setbeing composed of pairs of strands crossed as described.

Referring to the drawing, for example, the eye 6 has its outer strand ecrossed with the outer strand of the eye f. The inner strand 7 of theeye f is crossed with the inner strand g of the eye g. Each eye,therefore, has its outer strand linked to the outer strand of theneighboring eye on the one side and its inner strand to the inner strandof the other adjacent eye on the other side.

The leasing members 16, which may be ing machine described, but that myinvention may be carried out in a variety of ways, the details andarrangement of parts may be widely varied without departing from thespiritof the invention, and the same may 7 be usefully employed inconnection with any form of warp uniting or warp treating machine wherethe separation of the warp eyes 20 i or the separation of threads in thewarp eyes is desired.

Claims:

1."As anew article of manufacture, a loom harness comprising a series ofassembled eye supports so connected by the direct contacting engagementof the supports themselves that the separation of one eye from theseries'tends to separate the next adjacent one. a 7

2. Asa new article of manufacture a loom harness comprising a series ofassembled eye .supports so connected by the direct contacting engagementof the supports themselves as to cause the separation of one supportfrom the series to be followed by the separation of the next adjacentsupport.

3. As a new article of manufacture a loom harness comprising upper andlower shafts, a plurality of heddle members each with its strandsinterlaced between the shafts with the strands of the next adjacentheddle member.

4. A loom harness comprising upper and lower shafts, a series of heddlemembers,

each with its eye and a pair of heddle strands, one member of each pairbeing interlaced between the shafts with a strand of the pair of thenext adjacent member.

5. A loom harness comprising a series of heddle members each with itsheddle eye, a harness shaft, a pair of strands passing from each eye toopposite sides of the shaft, each strand of the pair being crossed aboutthe adjacent but oppositely extending strand of the next adjacentmember.

6. A loom harness comprising upper and lower harness shafts, a series ofheddle members comprising each an eye having pairs of upper and lowerstrands, each pair of lower strands passing to the same side of thelower shaft and adjacent pairs passing to alternate sides thereof, theindividual members of each upper pair passing to opposite sides of theupper shaft and each member of the upper pair being crossed about theadjacent but oppositely extending member of the next adjacent pair.

7 A loom harness comprising a series of heddle members having each apair of heddle strands, the adjacent strands of each pair having amutually interlaced crossing, and means for maintaining said crossingsoutside of the active limits of the heddle members.

8. A harness having a series of heddle members, each provided with apair of strands, adjacent strands of the adjacent members undergoing aninterlocking crossing, and separating means between the individualmembers of each pair and located between the series of eyes and theseries of 1 crossings.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses,

JAMES F. MATTHEWS.

Witnesses:

THOMAS B. BoorH, EVERETT S. EMERY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for fiveeents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. G.

